Twenty-Twenty
by Collectively Untogether
Summary: When tragedy strikes, Austin realizes how much it would hurt to lose Ally. She may be injured physically but his heart is torn at seeing her life slipping away so quickly. Austin/Ally.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally.**

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In hindsight, I shouldn't have let Ally go out on the water by herself when I had just finished teaching her to surf. I knew it was a bad idea, and I let it happen anyway. This was my fault.

"Ally!" I leaned over her once the lifeguard had laid her down on a towel. Her leg was bleeding badly, and she was unconscious. But breathing.

A small crowd was already gathering to see what had happened, and I wanted to shout at them all to go away. But the words stuck in my throat, and all I managed to say was, "Ally, please, I need you."

"Austin, what happened?" Trish asked from my left. She sounded panicky, but I didn't look at her face.

"I...I don't know."

"There are sometimes things submerged in the water," the lifeguard said. "She probably tore her leg up on something down there and hit her head too."

"So...what can we do?" I asked and swallowed back the sob that wanted to leave me at seeing the one girl I treasured so dearly now covered in blood. Her eyes should have been open. She should have been smiling at me or telling some lame joke.

"Stop the blood flow for one. Do that. I have to call an ambulance." The lifeguard got up and left.

I shifted to sit up straighter and tugged off my t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Dez asked just before I gave a sharp tug at the fabric and tore the shirt open.

"Stopping the blood. Come on, help," I said, tossing half of the shirt at Dez before ripping my half into strips.

I started wrapping the strips around Ally's injured leg and tying tight knots in place. "Come on, Ally," I said softly.

"Hello, Mr. Dawson," I heard Trish say. I glanced up to see her on the phone and then promptly tuned her out.

Ally was _not_ going to die.

I wasn't going to let this become some horror picture where the girl goes into a coma and never comes out. She would never know I loved her. She would never know I wanted to take her on a date to Paris someday so I could kiss her with all my being under the Eiffel Tower. So, she had to wake up.

I took more strips from Dez. The blood had already soaked through the ones I had tied. Surely, she was losing too much blood.

"Austin," I barely heard Dez say even though he was at my shoulder. "It's going to be ok."

I swallowed and tied another strip into place. "How can you know that?" I asked and pulled back. I looked at my hands; they were covered in Ally's blood.

"Because. I do."

That wasn't a good enough answer, but I would take it.

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later along with Mr. Dawson who had driven over from Sonic Boom in a state of complete panic. I stepped aside and stood with Trish and Dez as the workers lifted Ally's limp body onto a stretcher and took her into the ambulance.

"Mr. Dawson," I called, rushing up to him before he got into the ambulance. "Can I go?"

He nodded and tugged me inside with him. Whatever happened, I would make sure I was right there beside Ally the whole time. No matter what happened next, I wasn't letting the girl I loved out of my sight.


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank you all for the reviews and follows on this story. It was supposed to stay a one-shot, but the eager feedback changed my mind. I really hope you guys like it.**

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People look at you funny when you're in a hospital with no shirt on and dried blood on your hands, but I didn't care nor acknowledge their curious looks.

"Austin, maybe you should sit down," Mr. Dawson said.

I looked at him on my way past him, caught in a cycle of pacing in the waiting room we had ended up in. "I can't," I grumbled. I was amazed he could sit there so calmly when he was obviously worried. He was pale and kept fidgeting in his seat every few minutes.

"You're just making it worse," he said.

"How am I making it worse? Ally's in surgeries and X-rays to stop the bleeding and see if there's internal bleeding in her brain. Excuse me if I can't stay still," I snapped. As soon as I had said it, I regretted it. "I'm sorry," I said with a sigh. I scrubbed a hand over my face.

"No, I understand. It's stressful for both of us."

I swallowed and nodded before pulling out my phone and looking at my texts. Trish and Dez had said they were on their way half an hour ago. Where were they? I pocketed my phone and looked toward the door. "I'll be back. Going to wash my hands," I mumbled and moved toward the door.

The hospital seemed too quiet, like most hospitals did, but at the moment, the atmosphere felt ominous. Simply being there felt like it could drive someone into a coma. Luckily, the warm water from a bathroom sink jolted me awake again. I stood there for a few long minutes, scrubbing until all the blood was gone. Then I looked at my reflection.

The first thing I noticed was the redness around my eyes. I didn't even remember crying, but it was evidence that I had - at some point - cried in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Seeing Ally with an oxygen mask pressed over her face and strict EMS workers trying to stop the blood was just unbearable. I had to give Mr. Dawson credit for keeping it together when I couldn't. I guessed that he knew if we both broke down, that was the end of sanity.

"Austin!"

Startled, I stopped in the doorway of the bathroom. It was Dez and Trish followed by my parents.

"What took you guys so long? And why did you bring my parents?" I asked, frowning.

"We needed a ride," Trish explained. "And we guessed we'd all be staying the night." It was still the early afternoon, and the sun was up. But it was clear we all assumed Ally wouldn't be coming home anytime soon.

I raised an eyebrow and then saw the sleeping bag and pillows that my dad, Dez, and Trish were all carrying. My mom had a few new toothbrushes still in their packages and toothpaste bundled up in one of my t-shirts like a weird burrito.

I gave them all a weak smile. "Thanks. You guys aren't staying?" I asked my parents, noticing the number of sleeping bags.

My dad shook his head. "No, we have work in the morning." He handed me the sleeping bag and pillow before Mom placed her bundle on top of it all.

"Everything's going to be fine," she said.

I nodded, not really believing it. I let them each hug me before they left.

"Where's Mr. Dawson?" Trish asked.

"In the waiting room," I answered and turned to lead them down the hall.

"Have the doctors said anything?"

"No. They're still in surgery or doing tests or something."

Mr. Dawson looked up at us when we entered the waiting room a few minutes later. He set aside the magazine he had obviously been glancing at to pass the time since there was no one else in the room to talk to even if he wanted to. "Hi, Trish, Dez."

They returned the greeting and started talking to him while I dumped the items in my arms onto the floor. I tugged on my shirt before unrolling the sleeping bag, making sure it was positioned so that I could see the door from where I would be laying later. I tossed Dez and Trish their toothbrushes and sat down on the sleeping bag.

I sighed. Every time a doctor passed the door, fear seized my heart.


	3. Chapter 3

The doctors came in after it was already dark, and I honestly wish they hadn't. Relief and then fear pierced me. Their faces...this wasn't good.

I put down my hand of cards where Dez and I had been playing poker for the past hour. I watched Mr. Dawson get up and walk toward the door.

"Can we speak to you alone?" one of the pair asked, his eyes flickering to Dez, Trish, and me.

Mr. Dawson nodded and followed them out into the hall. The second doctor pulled the door shut.

"What do you think happened?" Trish immediately asked, leaning forward.

"Something bad," I mumbled. I swallowed and dragged a hand through my hair. "Why couldn't they just say it in front of all of us!" I burst out. "I hate waiting and not knowing."

"I'm sure it's fine, Austin."

I jumped to my feet. "You don't know that. How can you even think that when you saw their faces? It's bad news."

"You don't thi-" Dez started.

I whipped around to glare at him. "Don't. Finish that sentence."

He sighed and put his cards down on the sleeping bag. "Austin, I think she'll be fine. I was just speculating."

"Yeah, well don't. This is so frustrating."

The door opened and Mr. Dawson looked in. "I'm going to go see Ally. I'll be back in a few."

"Can't we go with you?" I asked quickly.

He looked away and cleared his throat. "Um, no, Austin. I think I better go alone. She's in rough shape."

"Is she stable?" Trish asked.

He nodded. "Yes, she's fine physically." He withdrew then and shut the door.

_Physically?_ What did that mean? She had to be in a coma; she just had to be. Why else would he say it like that and then leave so quickly?

"Austin. Calm down," Trish said.

I looked at her, very aware that my panic had to be showing through. "But...Trish. I. Ally can't..."

Trish swallowed and got up out of her chair. Her eyes were red, making me feel selfish and arrogant that I assumed I had been the only one suffering like this over Ally. "She's strong. She's going to be ok. She has to be."

I looked away. "And what if she's in a coma? Or can't speak anymore? What will you do then?"

"I will be there for her," Trish said in a rush and poked me hard in the chest. "And so will you. And Dez. We're her friends, and no matter what happens, we will always be that. If you were in a coma, Ally would be at your side the entire time. If you couldn't sing or walk or hold a spoon to feed yourself, Ally would be there. I would be there. Dez would be there. So, no matter what the bad news is, it doesn't matter."

I nodded and closed my eyes, trying not to let the lump in my throat push its way out. "Yeah," I managed to whisper.

I forced my eyes back open and wiped away the moisture that was building in them.

"Austin."

The three of us looked at Mr. Dawson who had reappeared in the doorway.

"You can come."

I didn't hesitate to follow him. My feet felt like they were moving on their own as if I wasn't guiding them.

Ally was in the ICU for monitoring, which immediately made me panic when we stepped through the doors. The whole time, Mr. Dawson didn't say a word. He led me past a line of beds all shielded by curtains until we reached one halfway down the hall in the ICU. He nodded for me to go in first.

Drawing back the curtains and stepping inside the enclosure, I braced myself for the worst.

But Ally was awake and looking around. She was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. Her injured leg was the only part of her lower body not under the sheets. It was heavily bandaged.

"Ally?" I swallowed, stepping forward. "How are you?"

Her eyes locked onto me. "Um...good?"

"Well, I know today's been crazy with the injury and all." I ran a hand through my hair and stepped closer to the bed. "So...everything good?"

"I guess." She paused and then squinted at me. "But...who are you?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is another chapter for you guys. Also, please check my profile for details about an upcoming project of mine.**

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I lay in the darkness of the waiting room that night, unable to sleep. Mr. Dawson had already collapsed onto a row of chairs, probably only able to sleep because he was exhausted from worry and using up adrenaline.

I, on the other hand, was devastated. How hard had Ally hit her head? How could she just forget everything about our friendship? How could she forget me?

"How long do you think it will be before Ally gets her memory back?" Dez asked in a whisper. The three of us had arranged the sleeping bags so our heads were together. This way we could talk and not disturb Mr. Dawson.

"The doctors said they have no clue," I mumbled. "Something could trigger her memory and bring it all back, or she could be like this for a while."

"Well, Ally can go home tomorrow. The three of us will just have to try to make her remember," Trish said.

I sighed and looked away. "She barely knows who she is. She doesn't even know her own father. How can we make her remember if seeing his face didn't help her at all?" I huffed.

"We'll try different things. Like you could sing some of the songs you two have written together." Trish touched my arm. "Austin, she'll remember. We have to give her time."

I turned over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't want to give her time. I want Ally back. I don't want her to look at me when her eyes show no recognition of who I am. What if she's not the same after this?"

"Do I need to hit you in the head with a brick?" Trish growled. "We're her friends. Go to sleep." She turned her back to me and fell silent.

Dez shifted to lay on his back beside me. "Maybe things will be better in the morning," he said and then turned away too.

I sighed and closed my eyes, trying not to think about Ally the day of the accident. We had been having a great time. As I showed her how to keep her balance on her board, my hands had touched her warm skin. She had looked at me and blushed. I knew it was a blush. Why hadn't I kissed her? Why hadn't I risked it then?

I ran a hand through my hair before sinking deeper into my sleeping bag. Ally couldn't be gone forever; I wouldn't accept that. I would spend every day trying to show her what she couldn't remember. She couldn't just forget; it was there somewhere. And I was going to find it no matter how long it took.

Because I loved her.


	5. Chapter 5

Mr. Dawson burst into tears when Ally walked into their house and asked where she was. I suspected he had been holding in those tears for a long time and that this was just the final blow.

"You kids sh-show her around," he said before disappearing down he hall and locking himself in his room.

Trish, Dez, and I looked at each other before before taking Ally around on the tour. She didn't recognize any of it as I had hoped she would. So much for something being able to trigger her memory.

"And this is your room," Trish said finally as we led Ally into her bedroom.

Ally frowned thoughtfully, walking over to the keyboard set up in her room. She ran her fingers over the keys, biting her lip. "I can play, can't I?" she asked, looking over her shoulder and waiting for our confirmation.

I nodded, my lungs feeling frozen for a moment. "Yeah, you can. You're wonderful too." And not just with a piano. I watched her, hoping the piano would spark more memories than that. Maybe she would remember us writing songs together or something. Please, Ally, remember.

But she didn't. The recognition faded from her eyes and she pulled away from the piano, walking around the room slowly.

Then my phone beeped, and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a text message from Kira. I sighed and looked at Trish and Dez. "I forgot I have to meet Kira in town. We're going to lunch after my CD signing." I had forgotten about both in the aftermath of Ally's surfing injury.

"You have a CD signing?" Ally asked suddenly. "As in you're famous?"

I just sighed and looked away. "Yeah." I looked back at Trish pointedly. "Take care of her."

"We will," Trish and Dez both said.

I left quickly and took the bus into town. My thoughts never left Ally on the way there or when I saw Kira and she rushed up to hug me.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to call you and tell you Ally had a surfing accident yesterday. She hit her head and leg, and..." I trailed off.

"Is...is she ok?" Kira prompted, noticing that I wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Yeah. She just lost her memory," I said, trying to pass it off as a minor deal. Kira already knew I liked Ally, but I had chosen Kira. Neither girl knew that I lay awake at night at war with myself over what to really do about my heart.

"Austin, that's not the definition of ok." Kira frowned.

"I know. But the doctors said her memories will come back, so I can't waste time worrying," I told her. "Come on, I have that signing." I grabbed her hand and pulled her through the back door of the music store where the signing would be in less than fifteen minutes.

Luckily, the fans kept my thoughts preoccupied. That, and Kira's father was nearby chatting with the venue coordinator for Madison Square Garden.

Kira sat beside me the entire time, and I became increasingly aware of her hand on my knee as she traced circles on my knee with her nail. "Austin," she said once.

"Hmm?" I asked, glancing up at her.

She gave a nod toward my hand that had just scribbled a second _Austin Moon_ on the cover. "Oops," I said and apologized to the fan, ready to switch it out for another one. The little girl shook her head and said it was alright - that she'd like to keep it that way.

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**Hey, guys, thanks so much for reading. Please review. :) **

**Also, I'm starting an event in which I'll upload 30+ one-shots all on May 1st, and you all get to pick what fandoms I write them for! Voting is going on _right now_ in the poll in my profile. There are 40 fandoms to choose from, so go pick your favorites.**


	6. Chapter 6

I spent the next week avoiding Ally as much as possible. The pain of seeing her and knowing she didn't remember was just unbearable. Dez and Trish both stayed with Ally most of the time though, which meant I didn't see any of my three closest friends much anymore. Instead, Kira kept me distracted. Every time Ally's name came up, she would change the subject, and I was glad for it. I couldn't hide the pain as well as the first few days because now the thought was setting in that the memory loss might last a lot longer than previously hoped.

"Austin, relax, we're supposed to be having fun," Kira said, rolling over in the sand so that she was laying on her stomach.

I sighed and looked up at her from my position on my back. "I'm trying to relax," I said and looked away from her.

"Well, you aren't trying very hard." She kissed the corner of my mouth before laying her head on my shoulder and pressing against my side.

I automatically moved one hand to rest on her side. Every action with Kira felt robotic since my mind was never in the moment with her. It was always back with Ally, wishing that she would come running down the beach with a grin to tell me she remembered everything.

But I knew it wouldn't happen.

What made it worse was that Kira had dragged me down to the beach when I insisted I didn't want to go. According to her, I couldn't be afraid of the beach forever. I, on the other hand, seemed to be the only one out of the two of us that noticed it had been barely more than a week since Ally's attack. Apparently that was supposed to be long enough for the horror of it to wear off.

My phone beeped from atop my bag and I pulled one hand away from Kira to snatch it up. It was a text from Dez: _Ally's playing the piano!_

My heart immediately clenched in excitement. Was she remembering?

"Kira, I've got to go," I said, easing myself up so I didn't just dump her in the sand.

She sat up, brushing her hair back from her face. "Why?"

"It's Ally. She's playing the piano."

"So?"

That simple word made me want to scream. _So?_ So everything! I could have my best friend back, and Kira had the nerve to ask _so?_

I got to my feet, hurriedly grabbing my bag and stuffing my towel and phone into it. "It could be triggering memories," I explained, trying not to let my anger show. "I need to be there."

"Trish and Dez can handle it." Kira frowned. "Austin."

But I was already gone by the time she called my name, running up the beach. I knew Trish and Dez had said they were going to be with Ally at Sonic Boom today to try to help her memory; they had already been there most of the week with no luck. I had to get there.

"Austin!" Dez called from atop the stairs when I ran through the doors of the music store.

"Dez, where is she? Is she still playing?" I asked, dumping my belongings behind the counter and rushing up to meet Dez.

"She's in the practice room playing some lullaby she knew from when she was little," he said, leading the way upstairs.

I looked into the room and saw Ally at the piano playing a slow sweet melody. "Where's Trish?" I mused, though my eyes never left Ally.

"She went to go get food. Can you stay? I'm going to get food too."

I nodded, only half paying attention. "Get me some tacos while you're out?"

"Sure."

I waited for him to leave before entering the room and shutting the door softly behind me. I walked over to Ally and stopped behind her. "It sounds beautiful," I said softly.

She stopped playing at once and looked up at me. "Austin, right?"

I swallowed back the sadness and nodded. "Yeah. Do you know any other songs?"

"I feel like I do...or that I should," she said, frowning slightly. She folded her hands in her lap and just scowled at the keys. "I wish I could know for sure. Just remember."

"We all wish that."

"Meaning?"

"You don't remember a lot that you should. But you will." I managed a smile for her.

She gave me a slight smirk. "We were really good friends, weren't we?"

My smile faltered. _Were?_ "Yeah. I guess you could say that."


	7. Chapter 7

"You're right, I do like pickles," Ally laughed and took another bite of the pickle she was working on.

The two of us were sitting at the table in Ally's kitchen. I had convinced Trish and Dez to give me a day alone with Ally that next week in the hopes I could have some impact on her memory. She was starting to remember more things about the piano and foods she ate, but her past of relationships with people were still a mystery to her.

"Yep, you do. They're your favorite," I said, watching her with a smile.

She moved a checker forward, scrutinizing the board for a moment beforehand. "I'm losing."

"You just remembered how to play," I said instead of pointing out I had beaten her in checkers multiple times.

She crunched her pickle as I lifted one of my pieces over hers and swept hers off the board. "You said you have to leave after this?" she asked.

I nodded. "I'm meeting a friend in town, but she might be coming here if she gets done with her dad early," I said. So far I had managed to avoid using Kira's name just in case it triggered bad memories for Ally. If she remembered Kira and I were dating, I was pretty sure she'd withdraw her happy personality.

"Alright. Are Trish and Dez coming back over?"

"I think Dez is. Trish is starting a new job today."

"Right...how long will she have this one?" Ally asked, examining the board again.

"No telling with her."

"How many times has she been fired? Ten or fifteen?"

"It's impossible to keep count, so don't worry, that's not a memory issue you're having, it's just Trish." I grinned.

"There," Ally said, jumping one of my pieces with her own and chomping down on the pickle triumphantly.

I gave her a sympathetic smile and used one piece of mine to jump two of hers. "Sorry, Ally."

She frowned. There was a knock on the door, and I rose to answer it while Ally fished out another pickle from the jar.

"Hi, you're here early," I said once I had opened the door to Kira.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but you can still go, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, no problem. Let me say goodbye to Ally." I peeked my head back in the door. "Hey, Ally, I'm heading out. We can finish our game later, ok?" I really didn't want to leave Ally alone or at all. But I still liked Kira. Urgh, balancing time between two girls was so frustrating.

Ally smiled. "Ok, see you later. Hi, Kira. Have fun, guys."

"Thanks, Ally," Kira said and led me outside and down the street.

It wasn't until we were in the middle of our pizza that it dawned on me that I had still never used Kira's name around Ally. And Ally had said it anyways.

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**Sorry for such a delay in updating! Life is crazy right now! Also, don't forget to vote for what one-shots you want me to write. Voting ends March 31, 2013.**


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